Lex mouths the words, "Screw up our escape" with a look of incredulity.

"Yeah, be our guests. Door is that way," Lex says with a random wave upwards, "We'll catch up when we're done."

"I swear to god, I don't know what bugs me more, the pussy footing from people I know can eat tanks, or your backsliding," Lex says to Steven as he shakes his head and heads out down the hallway after the guy who ran.

INSIDE (Dennis, Jack, Lex, Martin, Otso; NPCs: Beatrice and Stephen)
Lex caught up with the man as he entered another area, shouting, <"The freaks escaped! Their whole school could be on us any minute!">

Imago sighed at Steven's impetuousness followed up by Lex's frenzied rush. Well, it was said nothing ever went completely to plan. He added Martin to the field and sent a message via the Martin-band to the retrieval team. <Murphy brothers secured. We're heading out now.>

GamesImago in New Vindicators Academy of EuropeVortex in Force OPsEvan Roadbound in The Golden Wheel TurnsPeter Ezima in In the Shadow of Imperator

<"Hola ass#$*@s! The exits are blocked, the police are on the way, and the only way out is through me,"> Lex yells as he storms in after the man, <"Who wants to lay down and take their chances with the cops and who wants some instant karma?">

As the man went down Jack turned his attention towards the bruised fellow he knew was Martin, then over to Imago. "Now's our chance to get the hell outta here, include Fluxx in our cover and let's go." Jack glanced over at the youngest Murphy. "Unless you want another chance to screw up our escape."

That was sound thinking... until Lex took off as well, faster than anyone could intervene.

"Merde!" faux-Henry said. "I will go talk to Lex, someone please keep Stephen from doing anyzing foolish, block ze doorway per'aps." Fluxx looks meaningfully and unfailingly to Imago. "Greystone, if you could open a way out zrough a back wall. Extraction team 'as been asked to contain ze building until auzorities get 'ere. Please rendezvous and assist. Let us try not to lose any legal 'igh ground' we 'ave 'ere."

For all of Lex's speed, Fluxx didn't care about walls. He spread his molecules so thin they failed to get caught up by the otherwise 'solid' barrier of the inner wall. When he reformed he was a Vindicator-suited teen again, his identity hidden by a seamless black cowl with a diamond-shaped opening. He crossed any other walls needed to appear in the room with the angry electro-kinetic.

Robyn wrote:
Robyn shrugged. “I’m not a boy or a girl,” Robyn said. “I was never even born, if you want to get technical. A mage imbued his shadow with sentience. That’s what I am.”

The fey took a deep breath and then turned to take in the trio. “I know you all think I’m toying with you all, but it’s different. The Aurelius sent me here to protect you all, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. This school has too many enemies, and most of them are inside. We have to get rid of the venom…”

Not sure what to think Tamati tried to process what Robyn was saying not a dude or a chick but formed from a shadow, perhaps she was just pulling his leg although for a moment he thought he could feel a sense of loneliness emanating from the girl in front of him.

The comment about being a shadow seemed to tug at an old memory of his as well something when he was quite young or more likely remembering something half-assed from the telly.

"That doesn't sound ... everyone needs a birthday and we should celebrate yours my kaumea once all this is sorted." Tamati says on the spur of the moment before nodding in agreement with Robyn's explanation of how "showing" was better than just "telling".

Robyn wrote:
"Lex wouldn't understand, but you're much brighter, aren't you, Violet? You see how this is all taking shape, right? The way it's worked out, you have the ability to take care of several loose ends right here and now. But what good are we up here on the roof? Hmm..." Robyn put a hand over her eyes and looked out over the parking lot below. "Speaking of sucking, isn't that Wolf there? Climbing into that SUV?"

"Wolf? Shouldn't we stop him?" Tamati looked at Violet checking if the icy girl agreed or not as she seemed to know more about who was important or not than he did.

"Merde!" faux-Henry said. "I will go talk to Lex, someone please keep Stephen from doing anyzing foolish, block ze doorway per'aps." Fluxx looks meaningfully and unfailingly to Imago. "Greystone, if you could open a way out zrough a back wall. Extraction team 'as been asked to contain ze building until auzorities get 'ere. Please rendezvous and assist. Let us try not to lose any legal 'igh ground' we 'ave 'ere."

"Make a door, sure." Jack says, annoyed by the Murphy brothers antics. As he moved to the back wall his body was already changing according to his wants and Jack began working on making a large enough hole in it to accommodate their exit.

OOC: Lets call it Acid Spray (Weaken Toughness 8 ), and use it on the wall until a person-sized hole is made.

He rounds on on the frenchman, "No more walking away. No more ignoring it. No more pretending that this isn't our problem."

"They kidnapped Rose. We turned the other cheek. And the cops did nothing."

"They kidnapped Violet and Mike, and @*#*ing castrated him. We turned the other cheek. And the cops did nothing."

"And then, you know what? Kirstie wanted to go storming in and kick these $*@#ers in the head, and you know what I said? I said no, that's not right."

"And then they tried to kill us with a god damn van!"

"No, Martin. I'm done turning the other cheek. They need to be held accountable, they need to see that this @*#$ isn't going to fly anymore. Because they're escalating, Martin."

"And next time they're going to kill someone."

"They want to do this? Fine. Time for them to go to jail. It's time to take a stand."

Fluxx winced as Lex used his real name again and again.

But while he listened to his friend rant his eye outside blinks a few times. He'd not learned lip reading so didn't know what the student was saying. He instead looked around.

Inside, his body responded to the desperation of the speedster's words. "Lex, Ze auzorities are on zeir way. Wiz your and Stephen's testimony, and zat of your mozer, zey will go to jail, all of zem. Wolf broke 'ouse arrest. 'E's going to juvenile detention if not adult jail. Kirstie's safe, you're safe, Stephen is alive to be an asshat once more, Mike is 'ealed. Perseverance is 'ow we defy men like zis. Tenacity is 'ow ze system changes, but it takes time, ask any minority group zroughout 'istory. Patience is 'ow we win. Violent action just spreads fear of us and empowers groups like zese. It fuels 'atred. Jusifies zeir existance in ze eyes of ze public. Strengzens zem."

"Ze ozers are leaving out ze back. Come, wear me like a coat and we can speed through ze walls to ze building's front. Some of zem made it out and to a van." Fluxx points to the blank spot of his eye.

"And the best part about your way is we all get to marvel at your cleverness right?" Violet rolled her eyes and was about to go into more detail when Robyn pointed out Wolf.

"Hell yes, we're going to stop him. Secure the doors or whatever you want, I'm stopping that git." She jumped from the roof and created a slide to land on so she'd make it to the ground safely and then set off toward the SUV, ready to freeze the wheels like she'd done way back when Wolf's friends had tried to kidnap Rose.

"Evil wins when good men do nothing," Lex hisses, "And that tragedy where a neo rips these guys apart? It could happen every time they do this. They're going after normal people now. How long until one of them turns into one of us and takes them apart?"

"Patience? We're sitting on a time bomb, man. We are sitting on a god damn time bomb. Not if, just when and how bad."

He swears, and slams the side of his fist against the wall, bowing his head.

"$*#@ it, whatever," Lex said, throwing his arms up.

He hated everything right now. He wanted nothing more than to punch Martin in that silly hologram. And Martin? Silly, strange and sometimes infuriating as he was, he'd never done anything to deserve that. Not really.

Was Martin right? Was he just too... everything-ed to figure it out? Maybe. Probably. Maybe not.

He sighed. Suddenly he just wanted out of the hateful little building. He wanted to go find Kirstie.

He hadn't wanted any of this. He'd just wanted to sit under a tree and hold his girlfriend.

"You win," Lex mutters bitterly, holding his arms straight out at the sides, "Where's the exit?"

Fluxx approaches. He points in the direction of the front entrance of the building toward the van then starts encapsulating the young hero, lining himself with Helium to take the weight off of Lex's frame. "Jus' like previous times, walls will slow you but zey will not impair your progress. Remember to 'old your breaz. I do not know what we will encounter but stop for nozing unless we see zem about to 'urt anozer captive, zen non-lezal engagement."